This was horrible from the word go and I utterly hated it. The worst was the push ups, I had in my head that I would do 10 sets of 10, but my arms and shoulders just went dead after the first 20. I got to 50 and could do no more, so did the second 50 on my knees, which was embarrassing to say the least. The splits are recorded above, so hopefully when we repeat this in a few weeks I’ll be able to do better. None of the others caused too much grief, double unders were slower than usual, but I was still tired from the previous trials, also my rope broke (again!) and I had to source a new one quickly.

Another Dawn Patrol, my third in a row. A pretty smooth session all round.

I actually struggle more with the handstand push up progressions more than the actual handstand push ups these days, I struggle to maintain balance when balancing on my head. More practice needed here.

The Rx for the tabata deadlift was 120kg, and there was no way I was going to be able to lift that with any intensity, so I dropped to 80kg, which felt about right. I managed 4 reps for the first 3 rounds, 3 for the next 3 and 2 for the last 2.

The WOD however I did the Rx version. I’m comfortable enough with toes-to-bar and handstand push ups in low reps as this required. I did struggle on the second to last round to complete the 5 HSPUs, and probably wasted a good 90 seconds just on that, but the last round I kicked them all off unbroken so it was just a momentary lapse. I managed 5 rounds and 4 box jumps, which I’m pleased with.

After 3 days on the trot, with a lot of pushing in all the workouts my shoulders and triceps are absolutely shot now. Today (friday) is the first time in a while I’m having a deserved rest day. Hopefully back to the box on Saturday morning.

So Saturday morning I hit open gym again and had my second session on the stronglifts program. All seemed to go well, but my form is slipping so badly on the back squats, even at this relatively light weight. I’m struggling to keep my torso upright and my knees out. I was chatting to Nat who was squatting next to me and she suggested that I need to do core auxiliary work like good mornings. I’ll see if I can add more of these into my sessions at some point.

Deadlifting relatively heavy immediately after squats was a mistake. I had to break the 100x5 set up into 2,1,2. I think when I do this routine again I’ll put the press in between the squats and deadlifts.

Press is always my weakest compound lift, so I kept it light for this session to gauge where I am. 30kg was doable but only just, so it was probably just about right.

I have a few weeks off touring now, so will hopefully be able to make more open gym sessions on the weekends and continue this program alongside the crossfit program during the week.

Woop woop! A new PR! It’s been a few months since I got one and it’s nice to add 10kg onto my deadlift. I possibly could have done 130kg, but after a brief attempt the bar wasn’t moving. Next time!

This WOD was brutal! The first round was ok and I managed 15 power snatches before the minute elapsed and it was time to do another set of burpees. In round 9 and 10 I was only just finishing the burpees when it was time to do them again. Very disappointed with 41 reps on this within the 10 minute time cap. I think I would have gone harder if I didn’t think that I was actually past the 50 mark, but I misheard my training partner George. Completely my mistake as I should have been at it hammer and tongs regardless of whether I was on 40 or 50 reps.

So far I’m really enjoying the 6:30am sessions. My main struggle is knowing what to eat pre-workout though. I’ve been having 50g oats and almond milk about 30 minutes before training, but that’s starting to feel too heavy, and I think I need something with a quicker energy hit, but is lighter on the stomach.

Wall balls.Grab a medicine ball (usually 9kg for men 7kg for women but you make that decision yourself) with both hands at chest level.Squat down and as you return to standing throw the medicine ball up to hit the wall above a 10ft mark.Catch the ball and repeat.

I found the push press extremely frustrating, I could not break the habit of dropping into a jerk when my arms got tired. Because of this I dropped from 42.5kg to 40kg for the last two sets. All press movements are my weakest by far!!!

The WOD was fine, Rx was 30 DUs and 10 HSPUs, so I chose level 2 as chaining 10 HSPUs together would be a struggle when fatigued. DUs were all fine, mostly chained together, with the last couple of rounds broken down into 10s. The HSPUs were a different matter however. The first round was sweet, 5 together, easy. The second round was a nightmare! I couldn’t even kick up to the wall!!!! I eventually struggled through, but my arms were absolutely shot from the push press and I needed another abmat underneath to enable me to get any more rounds out. With the second abmat in place, lessening the range of motion required to complete the rep I was then able to carry on and complete 6 rounds in the 10 minutes, mostly with the HSPUs in 3s and 2s, the last round was a straight 5 in a row.

I didn’t progress the weight on the back squat this week as my form last week was so rough. It was better this week, but I’m still going forward and my chest lowering. I just cannot seem to keep this in check.

Bench and pendlay row were both fine at this weight, and will be definitely notching this up on the next stronglifts session.

First session back in a week and a half and it was another at 6:30am. Pretty brutal getting up in time, but I enjoy the atmosphere of the class, and also it’s great to have the rest of my day to myself.

Dynamic effort press was supposed to be at 75% 1RM, of which mine is 40kg, meaning I should have done this at 30kg. However I haven’t got near that 1RM in nearly a year, so dropped it slightly to 27.5kg. I don’t think I should have however as it felt a bit easy. Perhaps I’m finally gaining some strength back!

Max effort handstand push ups were fine, but I purposely didn’t push too hard as I’ve had a funny sensation in the top of my back/base of my neck for a few days and didn’t want to aggravate it by sitting in the headstand position. It’s good to be able to do these regularly now, I just need to work on speed and quantity.

This WOD was hard! Both of these exercises I blow out early on every time. I completed 4 rounds, 10 ring rows and 5 push ups.

Snatch was rough yesterday. It was supposed to be full squat snatch but I’m still struggling in catching the bar at the bottom of the squat, so I chose a weight I could definitely do, and made sure to try and catch at a half squat and keep on sinking into the full squat. One day I will get this catch right.

I was surprisingly energetic for the WOD, considering it was still before the sun had come up, and I normally hate running WODs. I got through the first 3 rounds with relative ease, not amazingly fast, but I didn’t slow at all. I would guess that each round was around the 4 minute mark. However I ran out of time and couldn’t complete the last two rounds. This is the peril of training before work.

Another good morning session. Struggled to get to a weight I’d done before on the power clean & jerks though, but I haven’t done these in a few weeks, so in all likelihood I’m just out of practice.

The WOD was good going too, I came off the wall too quickly in a couple of the HSPU sets, but all in all felt good about them. My average per set is creeping up, and I no longer fear them, in fact I quite enjoy them.

Great session with coach Ross yesterday. Power snatches felt light at 30kg, I should have definitely gone heavier.

The prescribed weight for Nancy is 40kg on the overhead squats for 15 reps, and then a 400m run. I couldn't see myself managing that many reps at 40kg, so I scaled. I wouldn't say I found the level 1 easy, but I was the first to finish in the class, which NEVER happens, so I think that shows that next time I attempt this workout I should try for level 2 which is 10 reps at 40kg, and 400m runs.

Everyone finished the workout in good time, which left us with around 10 minutes class time to go through some mobility work, which really helped me not feel like I was cramping up at work. That’s the worst thing about doing these early morning workouts, not having time to stretch properly afterwards, then sitting in a car for an hour, then at a desk for 8 hours, and a car for another hour. A supple leopard I am certainly not.

Also, I weighed myself for the first time in around a month this morning and I was 67.5kg and 13.5% body fat. I'm happy that my body fat is still pretty low, but I'm only maintaining weight, rather than putting it on. This isn't going to help me build strength, so I need to find some more food during the day from somewhere.

Just a quick write up today as I have to go and rip my bathroom out in a minute. Yesterday’s morning workout was a brutal horrible one. The dynamic effort strict press was fine. I added 2.5kg to last weeks without issue. Press is my weakest of all the compound lifts, so it’s nice to see the number go up even if it’s just tiny increments.The WOD however was a disaster. Push ups are my nemesis, my shoulders blow out so quickly in them. I had to break the set of 50 into 5s, and even then it was a huge struggle to get through them. I did the last 15 on my knees, so that I would be able to get onto the kettlebell rows at least, but I knew there was no hope of me finishing. I hate pushups, ball slams however are FUN!!

Haven't managed to get to the gym all week as I'm staying at my parent's house while my bathroom is being rebuilt, and so I no longer have time before or after work, with the extra travelling involved. I'll try and get some home workouts in, but it'll more than likely be Saturday morning now as my next session!!